An intergrated approach to the assessment of the environmental quality of the Tiber river in the urban area of Rome: A mutagenesis assay (micronucleus test) and an analysis of macrobenthic community structure

Our aim was to study the environmental pollution of the river Tiber within the urban area of Rome. We studied both the stress of the macrobenthic communities, described by density (calculated as animal biomass) and diversity (calculated with the Shannon index), and the mutagenic effects of waters and sediments, using the micronucleus test in root tips of Vicia faba. Four places (stations) were studied: (1) Castel Giubileo, at the entry of the urban area; (2) Ponte Tor di Quinto, immediately after the confluence of the tributary river Aniene; (3) Ponte Matteotti, at the entry of the historical city center; and (4) Ponte Sublicio, in the middle of the city center. Samples were collected in spring (May, 1989) with an intermediate pollution level, winter (January 1990) with a low one, and late summer (September 1990) with a high one. There is agreement between the environmental damage, measured by diversity of macrobenthic community, and the mutagenic effect of media (water and sediments), identified by micronuclei: while Castel Giubileo shows an acceptable condition in all the seasons, and Ponte Sublicio a bad one, the intermediate stations show a recovery in January.